Athletes from the University of Leeds are competing at the annual BUCS Cross Country Championships in Stirling on Saturday 1st February.
This year the university is represented by 24 athletes, all competing to try to better last years’ performances. Anticipating a strong team performance in the women’s race in particular, the club are hoping to beat last year’s fifth place finish.
With three athletes to count, sports scholars Heather Sellars and Lucy Crookes are likely to score for Leeds, alongside high performance athlete Sarah Hodgson, based on their excellent performances in the Varsity match on Saturday 18th January.
Rachel Friend, Caroline Ford, Joanna Rycroft and Rosanna Stewart are also expected to run well, showing the depth of talent in the Leeds squad.
In the men’s A race, sports scholar Gordon Benson will be competing after placing sixth in the individual finish last year.
With four athletes to count, Benson will be joined by fellow triathlete and sports scholar, Liam Lloyd, who was part of last year’s men’s team who scored seventh overall.
Josh Ridley and Josh Woodcock-Shaw will be making their A race debuts after impressive runs in last year’s B race and strong performances overall in university and wider competitions throughout the season.
Completing the men’s A team are first year students, Richard Powell, fresh from a great run in the Junior Northern Championships last weekend, and Alistair Weymouth.
Victoria Edmondson
Image courtesy of Victoria Edmondson